Stern: Sacramento still has a shot to keep Kings, but Seattle is 'strong'

Sacramento Bee | Feb 17

The NBA wants to bring a team back to Seattle but is eagerly waiting to hear Sacramento explain why the Kings shouldn't move there. Seattle's proposal to lure the Kings is "quite strong" – but it's certainly possible the NBA board of governors could reject it and keep the team in place.

NBA Commissioner David Stern played it right down the middle Saturday in his annual news conference on the eve of today's All-Star Game at Houston's Toyota Center, where reporters from Sacramento and Seattle peppered him with questions about whether the Kings were likely to stay in Sacramento or pack up for the Pacific Northwest.

In his most extensive comments to date about the tug of war between the two cities, the commissioner promised only that the board of governors, consisting of team owners, will make a decision in New York on April 19.

He said he has no idea how the owners will rule. "I think the owners are going to have a tough issue to decide," he said.